Wizard Protection Program
by Errow
Summary: [On Hiatus] The final battle is over, and the Wizarding world seems at peace until several Death Eaters escape Azkaban. After an attack on the Burrow, Hermione is forced to go into hiding with the last person she could possibly want to be with, Draco Malfoy.
1. Ambush

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing except the plot, everything else belongs to the brilliant Miss JK Rowling.

**A/N:** This chapter has been edited.

...

**Chapter 1: Ambush**

Hermione hummed quietly to herself while she lounged on her bed and read a rather dusty old book. The witch was interrupted from her concentration when she glanced at the clock and noticed it was already six o'clock. Time for the meeting. She set the book down and descended the stairs just as a couple knocks came on the door of the Burrow. Upon arriving downstairs, she found most of the order members sitting around the fireplace.

"Hermione!" Harry beamed as he ran over to hug her.

Hermione smiled and hugged him back, happy to see her best friend. "Has Ginny come down to see you?" She questioned.

Ginny and Harry had been in a steady relationship ever since the war ended about six months ago. They wanted to move in together, but Molly refused until they were engaged. Harry currently lived in Grimmauld Place on his own while Ginny lived at the Burrow with Hermione, Ron, George, Molly, and Arthur.

"No, Ron said she's just getting out of the shower." Harry said.

"Hey Hermione," Ron greeted her from his seat on the couch.

Ron, Harry, and Hermione were still great friends since the end of the war. There were a few bumps in the road, but they managed. One of their hardest points was only a month after the final battle. Ron and Hermione broke up. They thought their relationship would blossom into love, but realized that it was nothing without the war to push them together. Even after their breakup, Hermione was lucky that they could remain somewhat close friends.

"Everyone quiet down! We need to get this meeting started!" Kingsley said in a loud voice. The whole room grew silent as the leader of the Order of the Phoenix started their weekly meeting.

Hermione sat down on the couch next to Ron and Harry, who sat next to Ginny after she joined them seconds later.

"Sorry I'm late." A familiar voice said from the doorway. Hermione instantly tensed up as she turned to see Draco Malfoy, the newest member of the Order enter the Burrow.

She could feel both Ron and Harry tense up as well. They didn't trust him. About three months after the final battle, Draco asked if he could join the order. He claimed that he had turned his life around and was no longer in contact with his parents or any of the death eaters who still weren't in Azkaban. Nobody trusted him at first, but after some research, Kingsley decided that Draco was a trustworthy and useful addition to the order. People began to grow used to his presence and enjoy his company at the fortnightly meetings, but no member of the golden trio could forgive his past mistakes yet.

"Ah, Draco, please have a seat, we're only just starting." Kingsley said with a warm smile. Once Draco was settled in the back of the room, Kinsley continued, "Now, I have some bad news" He paused for a moment, "…I've been informed that there has recently been a series of high profile escapes from Azkaban."

The room was silent as they waited to hear more.

"According to reports, several former Death Eaters have escaped. Their whereabouts are currently unknown, so we must be very careful." Kingsley continued.

Gasps were heard around the room. "How is that possible?" Someone asked.

"We don't exactly know yet, there have been reports to the Ministry about some form of dark magic, a possible new spell or something." Kingsley replied. The man worked from a very high up position in the Ministry, and this information was always relayed to him.

People started murmuring throughout the small crowd. Kingsley was about to say something else when a large crash was heard outside. Molly Weasley was the first to look outside. She screamed when she saw a group of dark figures approaching. "Death Eaters!" Everyone went into a panic.

It was Hermione's instinct to rush outside with the others, wand at the ready, and begin sending hexes at the attackers. The war had left everyone on their toes at all times, it was just like Mad-Eye used to say, "Constant Vigilance!"

The darkening sky was illuminated by a plethora of curses. Everyone was fighting, and there were far more Death Eaters than Hermione thought possible. She ran around the yard outside the burrow, dodging curses and jumping over unconscious bodies. Well…she wasn't sure they were unconscious, but she would rather not assume they were dead.

"HERMIONE, DUCK!" A strange voice screamed from behind her. She immediately hit the ground. A violent ray of green light flew over her head. After a few seconds, she got up and looked over to see that Draco had warned her of the curse. He was trying to win over her trust, she knew it. It wasn't going to be that easy, however.

Hermione continued fighting for at least twenty minutes. Sweat was causing her shirt to stick to her shoulders as she disarmed a young Death Eater. Presumably a new recruit.

Then, she felt a curse hit her straight in the back, knocking her forward and into the cornfields. She was on the ground for only a few seconds before she heard two pairs of feet coming towards her. The bushy haired witch got up quickly, only to be disarmed by a mysterious figure. She began running, but was tripped and thrown to the ground by someone else. She tried to get up, but had the wind knocked out of her by an excruciating kick to the stomach.

"Filthy Mudblood." The man who tipped her growled.

She tried to scream, but couldn't find her voice. The only thing she could do was look up at her attackers. Hermione recognized them immediately. There, standing above her was Antonin Dolohov and Fenrir Greyback. They laughed as her fear became obvious and her pupils dilated.

"Crucio!" Dolohov screamed as he sent the unforgivable at her.

The pain was horrible, it was the worst pain imaginable. The only other time Hermione had felt pain like this was when she had been tortured with the same curse by Bellatrix Lestrange. She let out a blood curling scream. It felt as if her skin was being ripped from her body, and her insides were lit on fire. She wanted so desperately for the pain to stop. It was absolutely and utterly unbearable.

Then it stopped. It was as if the whole world dropped dead. She laid on the ground for a moment of pure silence before she came back. Hermione gasped in relief as she was once again aware of her surroundings. Her face was wet with tears and her throat hurt from screaming.

Dolohov bent down slightly from behind her. "You are going to die." He growled.

Hermione found her voice and screamed as loud as she could. She was silenced only a second later by another blow to her stomach as Greyback began kicking her repeatedly. She could almost hear her ribs cracking under his foot.

After what seemed like an hour, he finally stopped kicking her. Hermione tried to contain the sobs and get up from the ground, but was pushed down by Dolohov's foot on the side of her head. Hermione had never felt this small and helpless before. Here she was, laying on the groud in the middle of a cornfield while a battle was raging on only a few hundred feet away. Nobody knew that she was here, nobody knew she was currently being tortured by two Azkaban escapees. She couldn't run, she couldn't fight, she couldn't even hide from them. There was no escape.

It was so dehumanizing, in a sense. These wretched men were taking away her dignity with sadistic grins on their faces. She was laying on the cold, damp ground with tears wetting her face. Fear enveloped her as she wondered what they would do to her. How much would they torture her until they finally put an end to her life?

Greyback bent down now, getting near her level, and putting his face close enough so she could smell his rancid breath. "We're going to have some fun with you." He said with a malicious smile.

Hermione suddenly felt a burst of Gryffindor courage as she took a deep breath and spat in his face.

"Damn Mudblood!" She heard him yell as he backed away from her.

Hermione was about to attempt at more retaliation, but was stopped by a kick to the back of her head. Her eyesight faded quickly as she felt her mind distancing from the dark surroundings. Ringing buzzed around in her head intil she fell into unconsciousness.


	2. Saint Mungo's

A/N: This chapter has been edited.

...

**Chapter 2: Saint Mungo's**

Hermione slowly felt her mind drift into consciousness. Her eyes were closed, but she was still fairly aware of her surroundings. The first thing she felt was a slight headache, then, she felt an sore pain in her chest. It was coming from several different spots around her ribcage. She assumed this was the feeling of broken ribs.

The young witch opened her eyes to find a small, white room, filled with rays of sun coming in through the windows. She quickly realized that she was currently sitting in a hospital bed. Then she remembered what had happened. There was an attack on the Burrow, then Greyback and Dolohov attacked her. She could perfectly recall that horrible feeling of hopelessness that was now stirring up in her chest again. But she wasn't hopeless. Somehow, she had survived that dreadful battle. She was safe.

"Good morning." A voice said from the corner of the room.

Hermione gasped, cringed at the pain in her ribs, and then looked over to a chair in the corner where Kinglsey was sitting. "Kingsley! What happened? Is everyone okay?" She managed to say between winces.

He smiled at her compassion for her comrades. "Yes, everyone's fine, we have some checked into the hospital here because of minor injuries, but no fatalities."

"Good." She said, happy that nobody died.

"Hermione, there's something I need to talk to you about." His voice was laced with sadness.

"What?" She asked, immediately alarmed.

"That attack…it wasn't just a spur of the moment type of thing. It was planned and pre-meditated."

When he paused, she urged him on, "And?"

"Well, we've been looking into it, and have discovered that the attack was focused on you." He said, looking up at her with a serious expression.

"Me? Why me?" She was thoroughly confused now.

Kingsley leaned forward in his chair, "All we know is that there is some kind of Death Eater reunion, and most of Voldemort's followers are uniting to attack the Muggle population again. They have chosen you as their number one target, being a Muggle-born and a member of the golden trio, they want you dead."

Hermione thought this over for a couple of seconds. It made sense in her mind that they would want to kill her, and that also connected to how Dolohov and Greyback had attacked her so brutally.

"Hermione, we need to keep you safe, and I'm afraid you can't stay at the Burrow anymore, not after they ambushed our meeting."

"Okay, I can stay at Grimmauld Place, with Harry." She volunteered, knowing Harry would be happy to have her.

"That's not entirely safe either, we've made plans for you to go into hiding. There's a safe house and everything waiting for you." Kingsley said.

"But I want to help, I want to fight." She argued. "I can't just go hide away from them, that's not how we're going to beat them."

"The war isn't completely over yet. You can still help us, but it will be more indirect. See, we've made arrangements for you to stay in a safe house…with another order member." He hesitated, knowing how she would react to the person she would be going in hiding with.

"Who?" Hermione was already guessing.

"Draco." Kingsley said in all seriousness.

"Are you serious? He can't be trusted!" Hermione winced at the pain in her ribs from shouting, "He's going to betray us!" This was outrageous. It was exactly what the Death Eaters wanted for her to leave with only Draco.

"I know that you don't trust him, but I do. Draco is our best option for keeping you safe. We're sending you to a safe house tomorrow, you will be safe with Draco, and there will be Order members coming to check up on you often. Hermione, we have taken all necessary precautions to ensure your security." Kingsley stood up, "I have to go now, but Harry will be in soon."

Hermione crossed her arms and nodded, the usual stubborn way.

Kingsley said goodbye and exited the room, leaving Hermione alone. She began examining the room, noticing a plate of food to her right. She reached over, and picked up the applesauce.

After only a few minutes, Harry entered the room, closing the door behind him.

"Are you okay with this?" Hermione asked, seeing his relatively calm expression.

"Look, I'm uncomfortable with this situation, but Kingsley is sure that we can trust Draco, and I trust Kingsley's judgment." Harry said, sitting down in a chair next to the bed.

When he got up close to her, she noticed a large gash above his eyebrow, with stiches covering it up. "Oh Harry, you hurt your head!"

He chuckled. "My head is fine. And besides, you should be concerned about yourself. You broke three ribs, plus that giant bump in the back of your head, and the doctors said they used the Cruciatus on you. Are you okay?"

Hermione frowned a little. "Yeah, I'll be fine."

"Good, we just want to keep you safe."

They sat in silence for a few seconds before Hermione spoke again. "What happened? After I passed out, I mean."

"Oh, at the Burrow? We eventually fought off the Death Eaters, Draco found you in the cornfield. He said that he had to fight off Greyback and Dolohov to get to you." Harry said, slightly surprised.

"Oh." Hermione was a bit taken aback by Draco's actions. "So he saved me?"

"Yeah, I guess he did." Harry responded.

Hermione had to wrap her mind around this. If Draco hadn't come to save her, she probably would have been dead. That's what the Death Eaters came to the Burrow for, they wanted to kill her. Also, since when was Draco capable of fighting off two Death Eaters? Hermione decided that he must have surprised them or something.

"So I have to leave tomorrow?" Hermione asked.

Harry nodded, "You and Draco. But don't worry, you won't be gone for very long, just until we can catch the Death Eaters that escaped."

"Why do I have to go with Draco, do you know?" She said with a confused expression.

"Because he owns the house, apparently he inherited it from his aunt or something. Also, the Death Eaters still don't know he's helping us out. Greyback and Dolohov didn't recognize him, so he's under no suspicion of smuggling you away from here."

Hermione didn't really like the idea of Draco "Smuggling" her away.

"I heard it's actually a really nice place, a small cottage in Devon." Harry smiled a little. "It's right on the sea."

Hermione smiled as well. She liked the sea, but the fact that she was going to be staying with Draco bothered her.

"Alright I've got to go, but I'll see you tomorrow, before you leave." Harry said, getting up and heading towards the door.

"See you tomorrow." Hermione said in a dejected tone.

...

A/N: Reviews are appreciated.


	3. Topside

A/N: This chapter has been edited.

**Chapter 3: Topside**

The car ride was horrible. Hermion decided that within the first five minutes. Here she was, sitting next to Draco Malfoy for three hours in a tiny blue car. All that the bushy haired witch carried was her purple beaded bag, sitting on her lap. She stared out the window for what felt like an eternity, just watching the scenery passing by.

In the front seat was Kingsley, and Burnie was driving. Hermione didn't really understand who Burnie was, he worked for the Ministry, and he was a friend of Kingsley, but that was all she knew about him. Well, she also knew that it was his car they were riding in. She guessed that he was some sort of cover, Death Eaters would probably discover if they traveled by broom, but not if they traveled the Muggle way.

It had been a car ride filled with haunting silence. Nobody talked, they all feared that if they said one word, Hermione would explode. She was in a particularly bad mood. That morning, everyone came to Hermione's room in the hospital to see her off. Ginny brought the beaded bag, filled with all the things she could find in Hermione's room at the Burrow. Hermione hugged everyone goodbye, and was led into the vehicle.

Hermione didn't want to talk to Draco, she still hadn't entirely sorted out her feelings for him. Sure, he probably saved her life, but it didn't justify everything he had done in the past. She knew she had to talk to Draco eventually, she was going to be staying with him, seeing him almost twenty-four seven. Hermione just hadn't gotten over her anger and stubbornness quite yet.

"There it is!" Draco said excitedly, pointing out the window.

Hermione followed his finger to where a quaint house sat on a small Cliffside, around a bend in the road. The house was positioned just on the edge of a bluff, stairs led from the house, down to a large beach, curving around the cliff. The waves lapped onto the shore, small whitecaps distorted the blue water.

At that moment, Hermione felt compelled to say something. "It's beautiful." She found the words escape her mouth.

After only a few seconds, the car was pulled behind a hill, bringing the house out of view.

"It's called Topside. It was my Aunt and Uncle's house," Draco started to explained, "After they died, I inherited it."

Hermione nodded and continued looking out the window as the house came back into view, and drew nearer. Soon enough, the car pulled down a small road and stopped in front of the house.

It was an adorable house, with so much character, it surprised Hermione that it could be owned by a Malfoy. The exterior was a light blue color, with the roof being a deeper brown. It had a slight feminine touch, obviously created by Draco's aunt. There were white shutters and windows all around. It was a relatively small house, with an arched front door. In front of the house, was a stone path leading to the driveway, and to the stairs heading down to the beach. Behind the driveway, was a small garden filled with wilting flowers that had obviously been deserted.

"Well come on then, kids." Burnie said, getting out of the car, and leading them towards the house. Hermione had to wince while getting out, feeling the slight pain coming from her still healing ribs. The potions used in the hspital helped to heal a lot of her injuries, but her nurse said that thee was still some briusing left from her ribs.

Draco grabbed his bag from the trunk, and then followed after Hermione and Kingsley into the house.

Upon entering, Hermione found a bookcase straight across from her. She smiled at the large collection of dusty books. To her right was a small kitchen, and to the left, a dining room containing a circular table seating four.

"Alright Hermione, we've got to go outside and make sure all the wards are in order, you can stay in here and explore a bit." Kingsley said.

Hermione nodded and continue looking around.

"There are two bedrooms upstairs, take whichever you want." Draco said, dropping his suitcase next to the door, and following Burnie outside.

When Hermione was left alone, she started evaluatong the small cottage. Next to the dining room on her left, was a bathroom, then a staircase going up to the second floor. Next to the staircase was the large bookshelf, which she noted to look through later. Then, to the right of the bookshelf, there was a small living room with a large window covering the most of one wall. The window had a spectacular view of the sea, Hermione felt like she could see for miles through the small window.

After a couple minutes staring out the window, Hermione climbed the staircase. Once at the top of the stairs, she had to pause and regain her breath, trying to settle down the aching in her ribs. The top floor had two bedrooms and one bathroom. She quickly claimed her room, being the one with a bookshelf and another window viewing the sea. The walls were painted a delicate shade of yellow, and the bed was a light grey. She started unloading her beaded bag, placing her objects around the room, trying to make the place resemble home.

"I thought you might choose this room." Draco said from the doorway.

Hermione jumped and looked over at him in surprise. "Oh... yeah."

"How do you like the place?" Draco gestured to the cottage around them.

"It's very nice." Hermione responded in a monotone voice. "I think I'm going to take a nap, I'm tired."

Draco frowned a little. "Okay, Kingsley and Burnie are just leaving, do you want to say goodbye?"

"Sure," Hermione walked swiftly past the blonde in the doorway and headed down the stairs. She found Kingsley and Burnie staring out the window she had been so entranced by earlier.

"Ah, Hermione." Kingsley said once he noticed her, "So we've set up some wards, you can basically go all around the house, and then the beach is safe. We'd prefer you not leaving that area unless accompanied by Draco."

Hermione frowned at the thought of Draco escorting her around, but she decided that it was pretty nice to be able to go all the way down to the beach. "Okay. Thank you for your help."

"Of course, Hermione." Kingsley said, leaving the cottage with Burnie in tow.

"Bye." Draco said, waving from behind Hermione.

Once the little blue car drove away, silence filled the house.

"I'm going to go lay down." Hermione said nonchalantly, climbing the stairs carefully.

Draco nodded in silence.

There was no doubt that it was going to be awkward. Hermione already felt like she couldn't even stand being in his presence. On the other hand, at least Draco was being nice to her. It seemed like he wanted to win over her trust. If he wanted to turn her over to a bunch of Death Eaters, she would have probably been unconcious by now.


	4. A Truce

A/N: This chapter has been edited.

**Chapter 4: A Truce**

Hermione woke feeling well rested. It took her a couple minutes to realize that she had slept for about ten hours, and now the sun was rising from beneath the sea. She smiled at the beautiful sight out her window. Maybe this place wasn't so bad, it would have been much happier if she could spend it with her friends, and not be constantly worried about their safety. It was still, however, a very relaxing place to be.

The young witch got out of the puffy comforter that was embracing her and walked over to the window. She began to unlatch the rusty lock on the wooden frame, and push it open. It creaked a little after not being opened in what she guessed was several years, but it wasn't loud enough for Draco to hear.

Once the window was wide open, Hermione could breath in the smell of salty sea water and fresh air. She felt a sudden need to be outside, and leaned out the window, inhaling the pleasing scent.

Eventually, Hermione's stomach urged her to get some breakfast. She checked her appearance in the mirror, she was wearing a red tee-shirt with the name of her favorite Muggle band on it, and the white shorts she usually slept in. Her bushy hair was pulled aside in two long braids, and seemed to be pretty well tamed for now. The bruises on her face and arms were now a light yellow color, and only caused slight soreness when touched. She hesitantly felt her ribs, and noticed that they too, were much better. It seemed that a night of good sleep in a particularly comfortable bed helped with the healing process tremendously.

She walked downstairs slowly, trying her hardest to not cause the floor to creak under her feet. The last thing she wanted was another awkward conversation with Draco.

Upon entering the small kitchen, Hermione found that the cupboards had a decent amount of food, Kingsley had made sure they were well supplied. She stood on her tip-toes and reached up for a box of cereal, eventually pulling it down from the top shelf. Then she padded her feet over to the small fridge and pulled out some milk. After searching the cabinets, Hermione found a bowl and spoon, then started over to table so she could sit down and eat.

As she ate, she considered opening the large window across the room so that an owl could come in and deliver the Daily Prophet, but then she remembered that there would be no owl. Kingsley had made it very clear that Hermione and Draco were not to be sending or receiving owls, especially from the Daily Prophet which in Kingsley's mind, could easily be intercepted or followed by Death Eaters. The only real contact Hermione and Draco had with the outside world were the visits of Order Members. Hermione had learned from Harry that the first to visit would be Ginny, in a couple of days.

After finishing her cereal, Hermione washed her dish and placed it back in the cupboard where she had taken it from. Then, she found herself feeling the same urge she had earlier that morning, she wanted quite desperately to go outside and breath the fresh air.

So she did. The bushy haired witch silently opened the front door and stepped outside, immediately feeling the salty breeze. It was a little chilly, but she knew that summer was drawing nearer and soon It would warm up. She first walked towards the staircase, looking over the beach. It seemed to be a never-ending staircase, followed by an equally never-ending beach. The cliff curved around low mountains that could be also called tall hills.

The waves washed up and down the shore, making a delightful sound that Hermione could have listened to all day. Hermione sat down on the edge of the cliff, loving the feel of green grass underneath her. She listened to the waves for what felt like an hour, watching the sun fully rise from the water.

Soon, the sound of the waves was interrupted by the noise of a door opening, then closing, then the padding of footsteps toward Hermione. She looked over at him slowly, already knowing full-well who it was.

"Good morning." Draco said, ruffling his blonde hair while he approached her, looking at the water. He was wearing a grey tee-shirt and jeans, his feet were barefoot, just like Hermione's.

"Morning." Hermione said quietly, looking away from him when he met her eyes.

"May I sit down?" He asked, motioning to the grass next to her.

Hermione was confused, Why did he want to sit with her? He obviously had something he wanted to talk about, but Hermione didn't really know if she felt like talking to him now. "Yeah." She finally managed to say.

He sat down next to her and played with the grass beneath him, seeming quite awkward. Eventually, he spoke again. "You know, I used to come here a lot as a little kid. Whenever I was angry at my parents, or they had been particularly mean to me, I would just get my uncle to come pick me up. He'd take me here for a couple days, and I could escape from everything going on at home."

Hermione was once again confused. She didn't know why Draco was telling her this. Maybe it was another attempt for him to get her to trust him? "It's a nice place to escape to." She said.

"Yeah, I've always had wonderful memories of this place. But during the war, my Aunt and Uncle both died. I never knew what really happened. I suspect that it had something to do with them opposing death eaters and becoming 'blood traitors.' Shortly after they died, I got a letter saying that I had inherited this place. There was also a note from my uncle, saying that I will always be safe here, and this will always be my second home. Now I think of it as my only true home." He sighed, gazing at the light blue waves,

Hermione now wondered if maybe the purpose of this story wasn't only to earn her trust, maybe he just wanted to get this off of his chest. Maybe he only needed someone to talk to. He saved her life, so she decided that she could at least be someone to talk to. "And you never told your parents?"

"Never." He said with a slight smile, "The last thing I wanted was for them to destroy such a wonderful place with their horrible death eater influence." He paused for a second, thoughts swimming through his eyes, "You know I never considered myself a Death Eater. I mean, sure, I had the mark, but it was never really me. I could never turn into my father."

Hermione sensed the disturbance in Draco's voice at the thought of his father, so she decided to bring the conversation somewhere else. "What about the name? What's it mean?"

"You mean Topside? Well I'm not really sure about it, I think it has something to do with how the house is on top of a cliff."

"I guessed that." Hermione said, looking over the cliff, then back to the house "It seems like your Aunt and Uncle were wonderful people."

"Yeah, you can probably tell that my Aunt was very feminine and had quite an influence on the house," He laughed a little, "It would usually be a bit too feminine for my taste, but I've grown to like it."

"Well I like how feminine it is. It gives the place character." She said with a grin.

"Well of course you like it, you're a girl." Draco said, smirking at her.

"Nice observation skills." Hermione said sarcastically, earning an eye roll from Draco. It was strange how she suddenly found herself so friendly with a boy that used to be one of her worst enemies. It was surprisingly easy to let her guard down with him. Maybe it was just because he had let his guard down so much with her.

After a few seconds of silence, Draco spoke again, "So is this a truce?"

"What do you mean?" Hermione said, knitting her eyebrows together and tilting her head to look over at him.

"I mean to ask if you forgive me. If we can call a truce."

Hermione thought for a moment. She probably should trust him by now. Kingsley trusted him, and Draco had saved her life twice the night of the ambush, first from telling her to duck the killing curse, then saving her from Dolohov and Greyback. And on top of that, he had almost completely opened up to her today. "Yeah." Hermione said with a nod, "Truce."

He grinned, "Great. Well, I'm a bit cold, so I'll be going inside." Draco rubbed his arms and got up.

"Okay, I'm gonna sit out here a little while longer." Hermione said, deciding that she needed a little more fresh air and solitude. Draco walked inside, and Hermione heard the door close with a small thud as she was left alone with only her thoughts that seemed to be lingering a little too long on the smiling Blonde wizard that had just gone inside.


	5. A Visit

A/N: I know I'm probably terrible for not updating in so long, but here's the next chapter! With some much needed prodding from a friend, I finally wrote this and did some revisions of past chapters as well.

**Chapter 5: A Visit**

"Ginny!" Hermione yelled, greeting her friend with a large hug. Ginny had just entered the cottage with a small bag in hand. The little muggle car she borrowed was just parked outside.

"Hello!" Ginny returned the hug then proceeded to look around the cottage, "this place is beautiful."

Hermione smiled, "Yeah, and you haven't even seen the beach yet!"

"So how are you? You look like you've healed up well," Ginny evaluated her friend.

"I'm perfectly fine," Hermione motioned for the redhead to sit down at the table with her, "what about you? How was the drive here?"

Ginny shrugged, "It was fine. I guess that old driving class Harry made me take was worth it. Long drive, but nice scenery." Ginny looked at the stairs heading to the second floor, "Where's Malfoy?"

"Upsairs, I think he's still sleeping."

"Are you and him getting along? That's everyone's biggest concern,"

Hermione chewed her lip, "Yeah, we kinda talked about it, but it's still been a bit awkward."

Ginny rifled through her bag, "It'll get less awkward soon."

"I hope," Hermione mumbled, "what's that?"

Ginny was pulling what seemed like a copy of the Daily Prophet out of her bag. "This is yesterday's copy of the Prophet, I thought you might want to see it." Ginny slid the newspaper over to Hermione, who looked over it's moving pictures and a few headlines.

"Thanks so much," Hermione smiled, "It's pretty frustrating to be here, not connected to anything."

"Yeah, I understand that. I'm surprised you're not already going mad. I probably would be." Ginny agreed.

Both the girls looked up as they heard the floor creaking above them. Within a few seconds, Draco came downstairs. He was wearing a tee shirt and jeans, and seemed like he had just woken up, judging by the way his hair was messily sprawled around his head.

"Hello," He greeted Ginny, obviously nervous at the fact that she was in his cottage. Hermione didn't blame Draco for feeling uncomfortable, he was well aware that Ginny could perform an exceptional bat-bogey hex. Also, Ginny had hated him for years, as well as the rest of her family.

"Hi Draco," Ginny gave him a sweet smile.

"I'm going to go show Ginny the beach," Hermione told Draco, "she brought us yesterdays Prophet, if you want to read it."

Draco nodded, and sat down at the table while the girls walked outside.

"See? Isn't it awkward?" Hermione asked once they had started descending the stairs.

"A little, but it's only because you're making it awkward," Ginny said confidently, "wow, this it gorgeous!" She exclaimed once the full beach came into view.

"How is it my fault?" Hermione said in an outraged voice.

"Well, for starters, as soon as he entered the room, you made an excuse for us to leave." Ginny raised an eyebrow.

"I just wanted to show you the beach," Hermione mumbled.

Ginny shook her head and laughed, "You know what I think?"

"What?" Hermione asked, stepping onto the sand and walking towards the water.

"I think you two need to shag," Ginny was standing right behind Hermione.

"WHAT?" Hermione whipped around and looked at Ginny, who was wearing an innocent little smirk.

Ginny walked past Hermione, towards the shore, "I just think it would make it less awkward if you got all that sexual tension out of the way."

"Honestly, Ginny, you're mad. That would make it a hundred times more awkward," Hermione responded, "And what sexual tension are you talking about?"

Ginny turned around, "Oh come on, I can tell you're so tense, you desperately need to shag Draco."

"Okay, that's enough," Hermione tried to put a stop to the conversation.

"I brought you guys some firewhiskey," Ginny pulled a bottle out of her bag.

"Why would we need firewhiskey?" Hermione took off her shoes and stood at the edge of the water.

"You know, to help get rid of that sexual tension."

"Ginny," Hermione turned to her friend, "drop it."

Ginny shook her head, a little grin on the corner of her mouth, "fine."

* * *

About thirty minutes later, Hermione and Ginny stood in the little kitchen, preparing a salad for lunch. Draco was off in the other room, still reading the copy of the Prophet Ginny had brought them. It seemed like he felt just as disconnected from the world as Hermione did. He had been eager to read the paper, and learn about everythin going on since they were away.

"Alright, foods ready," Hermione announced, and moved to set the food on the table. Ginny sat down next to Hermione, and Draco came over to sit across from them, setting down the paper on the table next to him.

"They've made some arrests," Draco noted, motioning to the paper.

"It's a bunch of rubbish if you ask me," Ginny said, digging into her food, "none of them were there at the attack on the Burrow, and they've never had any Death Eater association before."

Hermione reached over to grab the paper and examine it, "Arrested for Death Eater activity?" She read from the paper, "that's all it says."

"See? Rubbish, they've got no evidence. They're arresting the wrong people." Ginny said confidently.

"How are things going back at home?" Hermione asked, "Is there anything happening?"

"Harry said you'd ask me that," Ginny smiled, "Nothing much has happened."

Hermione frowned, "If nothings going on, then why do I have to be here? I want to help."

"You're safe here," Draco said, "You're not safe back at home."

"Yeah, we just need to wait it out, if nothing happens for a while, you'll be able to come home," Ginny smiled.

Hermione rolled her eyes, "I just want to do something to help."

"You're helping by staying here," Draco said.

Ginny nodded in agreement.

"What's that?" Draco pointed towards the bottle of firewhiskey that Ginny had set on the table.

Ginny smirked, "Oh, I just thought you guys might like some firewhiskey, so I brought it."

Draco squinted his eyes at Ginny, trying to figure out what she was up to. Hermione just sent the redhead a warning glare, telling her not to mention anything else.

Ginny smiled sweetly, and finished eating her salad. "Oh, it's already one o'clock!" The girl looked at her watch, "I need to get home, I told mum I'd be back for dinner."

"No, don't leave yet," Hermione pleaded, not ready to be alone with Draco.

"I'm sorry, but I need to get going," Ginny stood up and grabed her bag, "I think Remus is coming sometime next week."

Hermione reluctantly stood up and hugged Ginny goodbye.

"Bye Hermione, bye Draco," She said, walking out the door.

"Bye," Draco smiled.

The door closed and Hermione turned around to face Draco, who was looking at her. She couldn't really place what his expression was, it was almost suspicious. But Hermione couldn't tell. The witch dropped her eyes to the table and picked up a couple plates to carry to the kitchen. A moment later, Draco was behind her with the rest of the dishes.

"Why did she bring us firewhiskey?" He asked, starting to watch a couple dishes.

Hermione shrugged, "I don't know." She tried to walk around the taller man, but he was in her way of exiting the kitchen.

Draco shook his head, still looking suspiciously at her, "You know something I don't," he said quietly. He was standing rather close to her, in the tiny kitchen, Hermione could see every little grey speck in his eyes.

She shook her head and managed to slide past him and out of the kitchen, just barely brushing his arm. A blush was creeping up her neck as she went to grab a book and sit down on the couch in the other room. Draco must have given up on his interrogation, because he left her alone to read for a while.

* * *

A/N: Next chapter involves a lot more Draco/Hermione time. Reviews are always appreciated, I promise to respond to every one!


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